It’s not about sex: Teaching young children where babies come from (and other stuff)

Kids’ antics, like when they decide to “play doctor,” as illustrated in this still from an “Amaze, Jr.” video, can embarrass parents and make it hard for them to know what to do next.American parents today grew up with gender-bending pop stars like Prince on center stage and moms who kept “Our Bodies, Ourselves” on the living room bookshelf. So why is it still so hard for them to answer their preschoolers’ questions about where babies come from?

Mostly, it’s because few grown-ups feel ready to talk about sex with kids younger than 10, said longtime sexual health educator Deborah Roffman.

“As soon as adults think things have to do with sex, they lose their common sense,” she said.

Here’s the thing though: “[Kids’] questions are not about sex,” Roffman said. “They don’t know anything about it. They are asking about their origins.”

Read the full story on The Hechinger Report.

Illustration Credit: Michael Emberley for It's Not the Stork!